Canadian Premier League Releases Statement On COVID-19

Following the suspension of sporting leagues like Major League Soccer, NHL, MLB, Serie A, and La Liga, the Canadian Premier League has released a statement regarding the novel coronavirus (COVID-19).

Given that the league does not start until roughly a month from now, the league has stated that it is closely monitoring the situation and is under advisement from relevant government agencies. For the moment, the league is still scheduled to kick off on April 11, 2020 – which is roughly when MLS is due to re-evaluate its own suspension of play.

Given that the CONCACAF Champions League was just suspended, Forge FC’s CONCACAF League fixtures may be impacted, too.

The official Canadian Premier League statement reads verbatim as follows:

The Canadian Premier League with its Clubs have been closely monitoring the Coronavirus (COVID-19) situation on an ongoing basis.  The CPL has established a working committee that has been monitoring the most recent developments and communicating with our Clubs regarding the appropriate measures to take as the situation continues to evolve.

The League has been working around the clock with input from relevant government agencies and medical experts to do our part in combating this public health crisis. The health and safety of our players, staff, fans and partners is of the utmost importance as we manage through this situation. We will continue following the guidelines set forth by our public health authorities and government agencies.

It is important to note that the CPL’s season does not start until April 11^th and we are not playing in public venues at this time. 

We will maintain our consistent dialogue both internally and externally and as more information becomes available, we will continue to provide public updates. This includes details about potentially rescheduling or postponing matches.

We here at Northern Tribune would like to remind everyone that health and safety come first – whatever happens, we’re in this together.

The Canadian Premier League will be providing updates as the situation unfolds. At the time of this article, there are 103 confirmed cases of COVID-19 in Canada, of which 79% of whom were travelers and 76% are over the age of 40. The first coronavirus-related fatality in Canada was confirmed earlier this week.

In the United States, there are just over tenfold as many confirmed cases, with a death toll of 38. The Canadian government has declared that a COVID-19 outbreak isn’t unexpected in Canada, but also declared that the country is prepared to respond to such an event.

Sources: Canadian Premier League, Government of Canada